The Motherly Titan
by Gamer95
Summary: What if Annie had something she swore to protect at all costs, even if it meant abandoning the cause she had previously been fighting for? She finds this in a small child named Harry, who she swears to protect by any means necesarry. Will she be able to protect him, or will he be titan food?
1. Chapter 1

Vernon Dursley had just returned home from a horrible day at work. After being denied the promotion he wanted and his clumsy assistant spilt hot coffee on him... to say that he was angry would be an understatement. The only way to improve his mood at this point was engaging in his favorite pastime... Beat the Freak. With a mighty slam of his front door, Vernon went to the little cupboard under the stair and undid the latch, then threw it open, to reveal a small frightened boy with wide terrified eyes by the name of Harry Potter.

"Boy!" Vernon growled out as he grabbed the little boy by his neck and lifted him out of the cupboard. "I had a horrible day at work... You know what that means, RIGHT?!" Vernon asked rhetorically as he threw the boy into the living room before he even had the chance to answer. The obese man snarled, and followed him, anxious to start beating him with his large, beefy fists.

Harry whimpered softly as his uncle brought his huge, beefy fists down on him again and again, bloodying and bruising the tiny little boy. "SHUT UP, FREAK!" Vernon roared as he kicked the child hard in the stomach. "DON'T MAKE A SOUND!" Harry bit his lip to prevent any noise from coming out. 'I wish I was somewhere else...' He thought desperately. 'I don't care where...Anywhere but here...' Then, quite suddenly, Harry and Vernon were surrounded by mystical sparks. In a flash of bright light, they were gone.

Vernon cursed angrily when the flash of light faded. He glared at Harry, ready to beat him for doing that...FREAKY FILTH again...but his eyes widened when he realized they were no longer in his home. They now found themselves standing in the middle of a large forest. Vernon gaped at Harry, his face purple with rage. "WHAT...HAVE YOU...DONE?!" Vernon grabbed Harry by the throat, hoisting the terrified little boy off the ground in the process. "TAKE ME BACK RIGHT THIS INSTANT, YOU HEAR ME?!" Vernon planted his free fist firmly into Harry's face, knocking a few teeth loose. "YOU TAKE ME RIGHT! BACK!" Harry was too terrified to keep his tears at bay. His freaky stuff had really done it this time... He was going to die...

_Half a mile away, minutes before Harry and Vernon are teleported..._

With precise grace that was developed from years of training, Annie landed on the forest floor after moving from tree to tree for twelve minutes with the help of the 3S Maneuver Gear that she 'borrowed' from the storage area where the instructors from the boot camp were storing the gears. She still couldn't believe that they would put someone so lazy to guard the maneuver gears. It was so easy to snatch one right under the guard's nose while he was dosing off that she almost laughed after the deed was done. She stole the gears from the guards on a frequent basis for one simple reason: she enjoyed the freedom of swinging through the trees, alone with her thoughts.

Said thoughts were interrupted by a sound... It was faint at first, and she paid it no mind, it was probably just some wild animal...But as she got closer to it, she could clearly make out what it was... It was the sound of a yelling man. She shook her head. 'That idiot's gonna get the titans' attention if he keeps that up...' She mused. Still, she was slightly curious...What was he yelling about? She decided to get a closer look, and swung off in the direction of the yelling.

When she got there, she wasn't sure what she was expecting to see, but it certainly wasn't an anthropomorphic walrus holding a kid in the air by his throat and punching him as hard as he could while the poor little boy struggled to breathe, tears streaming down his face.

She blinked in shock, stunned by the fact that such a huge man would be willing to hurt a child that was so small and fragile looking. She shook off her shock and started at him with a cold gaze as she raised her thin blades and dashed to the man, ready to save the child from this man's cruelty. When she was upon him, she swung in a large, vertical arc and removed his arm which was holding the child with a single slash.

Vernon felt something going through his arm... a catastophically large amount of pain, and the sensation of his arm falling off. Slowly, he turned his head to where his arm used to be and saw that it wasn't there. He remained silent for a moment, the realization slowly kicking in... then he gave a loud bellow of pain as he clutched the stump where his arm was previously.

Annie decided to put the huge lump out of his misery, and almost casually drove her blade through his throat. With a small gurgling sound, Vernon collapsed, the life leaving his eyes.

Annie kicked the body to the side, then turned to the child with a cool gaze. Vernon's detached arm was still holding his throat, and he was trembling as he weakly tried to pry it off.

Annie's eyes softened slightly as she watched him struggling so hard to get the man's hand off of him. She walked over to the child and leaned down enough so that she could get to the fingers on the hand. Harry, who had seen her approaching, trembled and squeezed his eyes shut, thinking that she was going to do to him what she did to his uncle.

Annie raised a brow at the child's behaviour. Could he not tell he had only killed the man to save him? Shaking her head, she pried the disembodied arm's fingers off of the little boy's neck, then stood as he gasped for breath.

Harry took in rapid, grateful breaths as air returned to his lungs, and he looked up at the woman who had pried the fingers off of his windpipe. She wasn't making any move to hurt him. She was just...looking at him. Harry looked at her with huge, confused eyes. Wasn't she going to kill him?

Annie shook her head, and turned to leave...but froze in her tracks, and turned to look back at the child, who was still staring in confusion.

Annie felt conflicted about leaving a small, hurt child alone in the forest, especially when Titans might be coming to their current location because of all the noise the walrus made. "Shouldn't you get home before the Titans come?" Annie asked.

Harry's eyes widened even more as he fully processed that he was now in the middle of nowhere, with no idea where the Dursley's home was...He looked down at the ground sadly.

"I...I don't know where home is..." He said softly. "...What's a t-titan?"

Annie's eyebrow rose at his question. _'How can anyone not know what a titan is?'_ Annie thought to herself. But before she could question him about it, the ground shook loudly. Then it shook again but harder and louder this time. Harry looked around in confusion and fear while Annie stiffened, eyes wide as she knew exactly what was happening.

Annie decided at that very moment that she absolutely could not leave him here alone. Without another word, she bent over and scooped Harry into her arms, then sprinted away from the clearing as fast as her legs would carry her. Harry was now more scared that ever. What was going on? Why was the woman running away?

Then, he saw it. A large, humanoid figure lumbered out from the trees, and approached Vernon's corpse. It stared at the limp body for a few moments, as if mulling it over, then slowly raised its massive foot and brought it back down on top of the dead body, crushing it into pulp.

Harry's eyes widened and his mouth opened wide in horror as he watched the titan take what remained of his uncle and put it in it's mouth. _'Wh-What is it? I-It's so big and scary...' _Harry thought to himself as he wordlessly watch the giant, naked monster eat his uncle's remains. By the time the titan was finished, Annie and Harry was too far away for it to care about their existence, so the beast walked back towards the direction it came from.

Annie eventually came to a cave near the outskirts of the city, and decided to duck into it to hide. Once inside, she propped herself against the wall, panting heavily. That had been an extremely close call...It would have been a pain to have to shift in front of the kid... 'Oh yeah...The kid...' Annie looked down at the child in her arms...and saw that his eyes were wide with horror, he was shaking horribly, and his mouth was hanging open.

Annie's eyes widened as she realized that he must have seen the titan eating that fat bastard. Without thinking, she hugged the terrified boy and started rubbing the back of his head.

Harry's trembling gradually ceased at the gesture of affection. When he was done shaking entirely, he slowly raised his head to look up at the blonde holding him with wide eyes.

Annie was stunned with herself. What the hell was she doing?! She wasn't supposed to be the type of person who went around hugging crying children! She looked down at Harry coldly... but the look on his face was that of a child experiencing love for the first time ever...

After seeing that look on his face, all Annie could do is think about how adorable he is. She continued her motions of care for a couple of minutes until she sat down and placed him snugly on her lap. "Are you feeling better?" Annie asked him with her lips going ever so slightly upwards.

Harry was slightly disappointed when she stopped stroking him. He wanted to be loved some more... Still, it had been a nice feeling regardless. He looked up at the blonde with a small smile.

"Y-Yes...Th-Thank you...Um..."

"Annie."

"Thank you, Miss Annie..."

"You're welcome." Annie said with a nod. "...Do you have a name, little guy?"

"M-My name is Harry." Harry said timidly.

"It's nice to meet you Harry." Annie replied as she rubbed his head.

Harry leaned into the touch, and snuggled up into the woman's chest. He felt safe around her. He knew that she could protect him should anything go bad... But...would she be willing to put up with him much longer? Harry felt a small sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. When would she realize he was too much of a freak to be around and feed him to one of those scary giants?

Annie, for her part, couldn't believe the way she was acting at the moment. She had done stuff that she never dreamed she'd had it in her to be doing, and it was all because of the small child in her arms.

He had caused her to act comforting. He had caused her to come to someone else's aid. He had caused her to think something was ADORABLE. This was unbelievable...The walls she had built around herself were about to start crumbling down, all because of one child.

Then, she got to thinking...He said he wasn't sure where his home was. What was she going to do with him? Frowning thoughtfully, she gazed at the little boy in her arms.

He looked like he was about to fall asleep, was resting his head on her chest. Suddenly, he lifted his head up at her and smiled. Annie smiled back as she returned to her thoughts.

Then, Harry spoke.

"Um...M-Miss Annie?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Wh-What's gonna happen to me now?"

Annie frowned, then sighed.

"Well, I can't really leave you all alone...I guess you're gonna have to...stay with me until we can find someone better to take care of you..."

The second those words left her mouth, Harry's eyes brightened up like stars as he looked at her happily.

"R-Really?! You'll let me stay with you?" Harry asked, hoping that this was all real and that he would get to stay with this kind lady that had done so much for him in such little time.

Annie nodded. "Yeah. I'll let you stay with me. But only until we can find someone who can take proper care of you. I'm...not fit to take care of any kids." Harry nodded in understanding.

"It's okay, Miss Annie...I know you actually hate me...'Cause I'm a freak..."

Everything went silent as Annie processed his words.

"What did you say?" Annie said in a slightly higher pitch then normal.

Harry adopted a crestfallen facial expression as he replied. "I-I'm a freak and you don't like me."

Annie stared at the little boy in her arms in shock, before her eyes narrowed.

"...Who told you that lie?"

"M-My uncle..."

"Your uncle?" Annie raised a brow.

"Y-You killed him..."

Annie snarled. So the fat bastard wasn't satisfied with physical abuse...He had to emotionally drain the poor kid too?!

If only she had made his death more painful before she stabbed him in the throat. She stopped that train of thought when she felt her arms shaking. Frowning, she looked down to see Harry shaking in fright, most likely from her snarling. Annie breathed in and out to calm herself, and looked down at Harry.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. Your uncle was a horrible person to put you through all that." Annie told him.

Harry looked up at her. "N-No...It's okay, Miss Annie...Really. I deserved all of it...I'm just a freak...I'm a stupid, ugly, worthless freak, and no one will ever want me...That's how it's always been, and that's how it's always gonna be..." His uncle had made him memorize every word of that, and made sure that he recited it every night before his beatings.

Annie was at a loss for words. She had never met an adult so broken before, much less a child this young... Wasting not a moment, she wrapped him up gently in her arms and embraced him tightly against her chest. Harry was confused as to why she suddenly started hugging him again... but he wasn't complaining.

The young woman was gritting her teeth in anger, trembling with barely concealed rage. How DARE that fat bastard...Who the HELL did he think he was, treating a little boy like that?! She wished she could have tortured him a little more before his death...Her enraged expression gradually gave way to a sadistic smirk as she imagined all the horrible things she could have done to the obese man.

These thoughts were interrupted when she felt Harry's two small arms wrapping around her. She looked down to witness Harry burying his head into her chest and yawning softly.

Her eyes widened. _'Kid, why are you so adorable?'_ She thought as she felt the corners of her lips turn upwards.

"...You tired, kid?" Harry nodded sleepily, not looking up from his comfortable position. He had had a taxing day...He had taken a beating, teleported himself and his uncle to another part of the world with the freaky stuff, been rescued by a pretty blonde lady who wanted to take care of him, and seen a scary giant. He needed some rest... Annie smirked. "Well, if you wanna sleep, I'm not gonna stop you." Harry let out a soft, content cooing sound...and then his soft snores filled the cave.

She smiled at the snoring little boy, and decided that it would probably be a good idea to keep watch for titans while he sleeps. So with piercing eyes, she watched over her new charge while he rested, safe and secure in his new guardian's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Annie stared down at the child in her arms. It had been two hours since she went to the cave and Harry started his nap. She couldn't stop gazing at him. He was...cute when he was peaceful. However, as much as she wanted to stay like this, she needed to get back to the training camp before someone noticed that she was missing. Then she thought...where would she hide the child? She couldn't really take him to the bunk house, he would be spotted sooner other then later. Perhaps the stables? She then shook her head no, that place wasn't sanitary and eventually, someone was going to find him. Annie started to get irritated while thinking of places to hide him with no luck. Then suddenly, she remembered a small shack that wasn't used much anymore behind the bunk house. Perhaps she could find some supplies and set up a small bed for him...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry stirring in her arms. He let out a soft groan as he woke up. He blinked a few times as he realized that he was in an area that he wasn't familiar with. He was close to panicking when he realized that the nice lady was staring at him with a smile.

"Morning." She said calmly.

"M-morning." Harry replied as he yawned.

"You sleep well?"

"I slept really good Miss Annie." Harry said with a nod as he smiled.

"Good. Looked like you needed it..." Harry nodded in agreement as Annie stood up. "We need to get out of here while Titans aren't around." Annie told him as she readjusted him in her arms and walked out of the cave. Harry shivered at the mention of the horrific monsters. He held her tight in fear that one of them was going to pop up and grab him at any moment, causing Annie to look at him for a moment. "Yeah...They're pretty creepy, aren't they?" Harry nodded his head rapidly as he whimpered at the thought of the titan that ate his uncle. "Don't worry...They won't hurt you..." Annie told him. "Not while I'm around to protect you."

Harry looked up at her with wide eyes. "P-Promise...?" He asked softly.

"Promise." Annie told him as they left the cave. Harry smiled up at her cutely. Annie's heart melted from the intensity of his cuteness. However, she wasn't about to show just how much she was effected, so she just settled for a small smile. She ruffled his hair as she walked through the forest and towards the camp.

After thirty minutes of travel, they made it to a cliff that overlooked the camp. Harry saw all the people down in the camp and clutched tightly to the shirt of Annie's uniform. Annie held him tightly as she looked around the camp for the shack. She saw it way off in the distance. She smirked until she realized that it was on the other side of camp from where she was. "Damn...How will I get you there...?" She muttered.

She thought about going right through camp using stealth, but she doubted she would be able to dodge everyone. So she decided that the best course of action would be to sneak through the forest and try to use the cover of the trees to hide her. She looked down at Harry. "...I'm going to have to take you through the forest. Don't be scared, okay?"

Harry looked up at her and nodded. "Okay Miss Annie." Harry told her.

Annie smirked and ruffled his hair. "Great..." With that, they tried to make their way through the woods without alerting anyone that they were there.

They had been successful. Annie sighed in relief when she made it to the shack with no troubles.

"Um...What is this place, Miss Annie?" Harry asked.

"This will be the shack that you'll be hiding in for now. If they see you, they'll take you away from me." Annie explained to him.

Harry looked up at her with wide eyes. "Wh-Why?" He asked softly.

Annie looked at him sadly. "Because they this camp is no place for children."

"C-Camp? I think my cousin used to go there...Grown ups have their own special camps?" Harry asked.

Annie nodded. "Yes, this camp is known as a boot camp where people like me learn how to fight in the military." Annie explained.

"Oh..." Harry nodded. He didn't want to fight, so it was for the best he wasn't part of camp...

"Let's see what the shack looks like from the inside." Annie told him as she walked over to the door to the shack and opened it to reveal a mostly empty room, big enough for Harry to stay inside.

"Wow, this is much bigger then my old cupboard." Harry said.

Annie's eye twitched. 'Cupboard?' She thought.

Harry quickly covered his mouth with fear in his eyes. "I-I didn't mean to say that!" Harry quickly said.

"Doesn't matter that you did. The man who did it to you is dead." Annie told him. Harry was silent for a moment as he remembered that his uncle will never be able to punish him again. The realization almost drove him to tears. But not tears of sadness, but tears of joy on finally being able to live without fear of his uncle beating him.

Annie didn't notice. She walked into the shack and placed Harry on his feet. "I'm going to have to leave you here alone for a few hours. when it's night time, I'll come by with food. Okay?" Annie asked him.

"I get food?!" Harry asked, incredulous.

She had to calm herself after hearing his question. "Yes, I'll try to sneak as much food as I can."

"...Are you gonna leave me alone after that?" He asked timidly.

"...I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." Annie told him. Harry smiled and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back.

"Thank you..." Harry said softly.

She smiled, ruffled his head again, and got up. "Try not to make too much noises. Someone might find you." She warned as he opened the shack door. Harry nodded, not wanting to be taken away from her. She smiled andtlook a few moments to look at him before she closed the door behind her.

Harry found himself missing her instantly. He went to a corner, curled up in a ball, and tried as best as he could to remain quiet. At least there was sunlight in the shack...

Harry sighed as he stayed like that, waiting for Annie to return.


	3. Chapter 3

A familiar blonde was walking about the training grounds at night. However, this wasn't Annie were talking about. This was Krista, the "Goddess" of the Camp. She had thought she saw something outside. She thought it was a stray animal, maybe a kitty. If it was, she was planning to feed it. She searched through the night, calling, "Kitty? Kiiitty...come out please!" However, there wasn't an animal anywhere in sight. Perhaps she had been seeing things...? No...Something had been moving near the shed at the edge of the grounds. She moved towards it. No one ever sent in there...so it was likely an animal was nesting in it. She knocked on the door. "Kitty..?" Now, it may be naive to expect to see a cat in this shed. However, it was also reasonable, as stray pets were common in such places. And it was FAR more likely than seeing a tiny boy sleeping on a pile of hay. She put a hand over her mouth at the sight. A homeless child had sneaked in? Unheard of...but this needed to be dealt with accordingly. Krista approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Goodness...Little boy...How in the world did you get in here...?"

The boy stirred, and rolled over to look at her...then his eyes widened and he flinched away, looking as though he had to escape at any moment. Krista tilted her head at him. His eyes were so Green...

A shadow filled the doorway behind her. Annie stepped into the shed she had left Harry in, some bread tucked away under her uniform. Her blood ran cold when she heard someone else talking to him. '...Sh*t!' She thought.

Annie quickly assessed the situation. Krista from her unit had discovered Harry, and now she had to explain...or punch her and knock her out. Oh what to do... Annie entered the room and cleared her throat. Krista jumped up with a squeak and turned to see Annie looking at her blankly. "H-Hi..."

"Krista..."

"Annie...? Is that you?" She asked

"Miss A-Annie!" The boy exclaimed.

Annie dashed forward and snatched Harry up, hiding him in her chest with wide eyes. "K-Krista...What are you doing...?" 'Oh God, please don't let Ymir be nearby...'

"I-I thought I saw something move around! I thought it was a kitten s-so I thought I'd feed it!" Krista explained, worried.

Annie frowned and held Harry tighter. "Harry, did you leave the shed?" She asked, trying her hardest to convey that she was NOT angry with him.

He flinched and slammed his eyes shut. He nodded, wanting to be truthful. "I-I-I was hot, a-and it was cool outside..."

Annie sighed and petted his head gently. "Okay...Thank you for being honest." She said calmly.

"A-Are you gonna hit me...?" Harry asked, worriedly. Annie shook her head.

"No. I won't. Ever."

This was unheard of...but...it was obviously happening. "Annie..? Are you taking care of an orphan..?" Krista asked.

Annie blushed and looked down. "Um...Well, I..." She looked down. "Y-Yes..."

Krista blushed. "T-That's so...Nice of you!" Krista giggled.

Annie's entire face turned as red as a tomato. "I...I...Uh...Thanks..." She replied shyly, holding Harry closer.

"Um...I won't tell anyone you're keeping him. He's too cute to go away...a-and without your career, what would you do?" Krista promised.

Annie stared at her blankly for a few moments before nodding. "...Thank you. I appreciate it."

Krista nodded. She sat down Indian Style. Then gained a questioning look. "Annie...may I hold him?"

Annie blinked, then looked down at Harry. He looked back at her with wide, innocent eyes. "Harry, are you okay with it...?"

He looked uneasy...he asked in his meek voice, "I-Is she nice like you...?" Annie nodded.

"In fact, people say she is like a goddess."

"A...A goddess...?" Harry asked softly. Krista let out a soft 'EEP' and covered her face to hide her blush. Annie smirked and nodded at Harry. "Um...s-she can...uh...hold me." He agreed. Annie handed him gently over to Krista who took him and rocked him back and forth.

"Awww...He's sooooo little..." Krista cooed, rocking him back and forth. Harry blushed and covered his face with his hands while Krista gushed over him. Annie watched happily, before checking the time...it was close to lights out. She frowned. Oh, what was she going to do? How could she leave Harry in here alone? It was wrong! She had to do something...she had to report for lights out and bed making in the morning. How could she do this?! Growling, she beat her hands against the sides of her head. Krista frowned. "You don't want to leave him."

Annie pulled them away. "No...I can't. He wouldn't survive a night without me." She insisted. Harry nodded in agreement.

"I wanna be with Miss Annie..." He squeaked out softly. He hugged her neck to enforce his point.

Krista put a hand to her cheek. "Hmmm...I suppose I could speak to the Females in the barracks...and we could hide him..." She mused. She smiled warmly. "I know Ymir will agree." She said, giggling softly.

Annie looked uneasy. But...it was the best she had. So she nodded. "All right..." She conceded. "It's our best bet, I guess."

Krista stood up and lead Annie out of the shed. They used the Cover of darkness to keep Harry hidden, and it remained that way until they arrived at the Barracks. "I'll go in first." Krista whispered. "If I explain the situation, they'll probably be okay with it." Annie nodded, and Krista entered. "E-Everyone! Could you all gather around please? I...Have something to took to you about."

"Weeeell, what've you got to say?" Came the clearly flirtatious voice of Ymir. Annie rolled her eyes. Ymir was so obviously a lesbian it wasn't even funny.

"I was out looking for a kitty..,but when I got to the shed...I found a small homeless boy...Annie's been taking Care of him..." Annie couldn't quite hear the other girls reactions. They were being very quiet. Suddenly, Mikasa stepped outside, and looked down at her blankly.

Annie stared right back at her...while Harry whimpered and hid in Annie's chest. Krista continued, "H-He needs a place to stay!"

Mikasa just stared blankly at Annie and Harry. "...What are you waiting for? Get in here already."

Annie stepped in and felt all eyes on her. Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. The girls were dumbfounded. "Woooooow..." Sasha said in surprise. "Annie's a mom? Weird..."

Annie felt the faintest of blushes arrive on her cheeks. "M-Mom..?" Harry asked, confused. Krista Awwed.

"He's soooo cute!" She exclaimed, delighted. The other girls all smirked at Annie's red face.

"It's lights out in a few moments." Annie cut in, moving to her bunk.

"What's his name? Sasha asked, intrigued.

Annie blinked, then looked down at the boy. "Harry. His name is Harry." She said simply. Harry nodded, then Annie pointed out, "Sasha, Mikasa, Krista, Ymir," end she continued introducing him.

Harry was sure to say a soft 'hi' to each girl. After introductions, he yawned softly. Annie climbed into her bed and tucked them both in, making sure Harry was out of sight to anyone who would step in through the door. "Good night everyone!" Krista waved, stepping into bed. The captain came through and everyone held their breath...but he didn't see Harry, and he left the room.

Annie sighed in relief and stroked the little boy's hair. He was safe for one night...She just had to wake up early, before bed making, to put him back in the shed... She could do that. She was strong. Her Harry? He wasn't strong...he was fragile. So she had to be strong for him. She took a deep breath and looked down at his sleeping face. He snuggled closer to her and closed his eyes. His soft snoring followed soon after. Oh goodness...Annie Leonhardt, felled by a mere child. It was pathetic.. She sighed deeply, praying she would never have to reveal her terrible secret to him. He was so sensitive. It would TERRIFY him... With that sad thought in mind, she curled up and fell asleep. But not before pecking Harry's cheek and forehead. It was a must. And so, Annie's eyes slowly closed. Sleep overtook her entirely. Subconsciously, she tightened her hold on him.


End file.
